1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to input/output (I/O) boards and more specifically it relates to an input/output transition board system for collecting and distributing input/output signals between a backplane and an I/O board while allowing for additional electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional backplanes have been in use for years upon various electronic units. Backplanes typically include a plurality of sockets that receive a corresponding number of cards. Some backplanes include a plurality of rear panel connectors that are in direct communication with the sockets. Exemplary backplane technologies include VME (VersaModule Eurocard), PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), cPCI (compact PCI) and related backplane technologies.
In thermal management applications (e.g. spray cooling, air cooling), an enclosure surrounds the electronic devices being thermally managed. I/O connectors are required to allow for the connection of external electronic devices. The I/O connectors are typically directly wired to the backplane with numerous wires (not shown). There are typically hundreds and sometimes thousands of wires required for all of the I/O connectors (each I/O connector typically has between 10–150 contacts). This wire configuration is time consuming to make and install. In addition, the wire configuration does not provide reliable impedance and is prone to failure (e.g. solder breakage, wire abrasion). Also, the wire configuration requires a significant amount of space within the enclosure.
To solve the inherent problems with wire configurations, ISOTHERMAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH, INC. developed an I/O board that is in direct communication between the I/O connectors and a backplane as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. This configuration eliminates the usage of numerous wire connections between the I/O connectors and the backplane. However, there is a need for additional electronic devices and functionality to be included within the enclosure without significantly increasing the size of the enclosure (e.g. transceivers, Ethernet physical layer, current limiters, power sources, individual resets for selected backplane slots).
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for collecting and distributing input/output signals between a backplane and an I/O board while allowing for additional electronic devices. Conventional electronic communication systems for I/O connectors and a backplane do not allow for additional electronic devices and functionality.
In these respects, the input/output transition board system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of collecting and distributing input/output signals between a backplane and an I/O board while allowing for additional electronic devices.